My battle with vitiligo – Tracy Gesare shares her inspiring journey

Tracy Gesare may have had her modelling aspirations cut short but she is not about to let her flaws define her. She shares her journey

In 2015, I noticed a bright patch of skin on my lower back but I did not think much of it because it was painless. So I ignored it. I thought it was a reaction to something and would go away. Fast forward to March 2016, the patches started becoming brighter and I stated noticing more of them on my upper parts of my back, neck and basically my left side of the torso.

The spots were also itchy. My close friends started noticing the patches too and suggested that I get them checked out but I didn't.

One time I went to the barber for my regular cut and he told me that he thought I had vitiligo. So I went home and Googled the condition. It is then I decided to see a dermatologist. My dermatologist Dr Saroop Bansil confirmed that I had vitiligo.

Up to this point I was in denial. Now I just wanted to learn everything I could about the condition. I was inspired by world famous models, Winnie Hallow and April Star who both contracted it in their childhood. What I discovered from my research was that people develop it before age 20 and that it is genetic.

In my case, no one in my family has it. I asked my grandmother and she confirmed that. At one point I became vegetarian but that was short-lived. I then started taking whole meals and lots of vegetables. A nutritionist friend drafted a vegetarian diet and even though it was very hard to follow, my overall diet improved.

Although I loved my body standing in front of the mirror, people's observations made me self-conscious. However, I did not hide or stop wearing what I usually did. I didn't want to cover up but I had to get used to the staring. I also had to learn to respond patiently to people's queries. Someone once asked me if someone had burnt my skin, and if I was in a fight. Another person asked me why I couldn't cover with makeup. I have since learnt to brush off insensitive remarks.

MANAGEMENT I went back to the doctor and he gave me some medication with instructions. I would apply cream and go bask in the sun, wipe it off then apply another solution, leave it on for a while then shower or wipe it off. I was so eager to start my healing that I overdid it and got sunburns on my back.

Two months into treatment, I realised that once you have vitiligo you will always have it. It doesn't go away. Although the treatment is affordable, it would take years to get your pigmentation back. It is rare for skin pigment to return on its own which leaves you with two options; get the long term treatment or to live with it. I decided to stop treatment. I didn't want to get my hopes up because I may not be healed and I didn't have a medical cover.

I've lived with it for over a year now and I have reached a point where I don't remember that I have it until someone points it out. The patches are growing lighter but it hasn't spread yet. To improve my immunity, I'm on a better diet and exercise.

Before I had vitiligo, I had started getting modelling and advertising jobs and my career was looking up. When vitiligo set in, I stopped getting call backs.

I still want a career in film and broadcast. I started a lifestyle blog that I have been running for six years now. I only recently started a fashion segment thanks to the rejection from casting agencies. I chose to create a platform for myself to do what I had always wanted to do right from the start. Nobody should be defined by their flaws.